BooksBarbecue
Back The Mother Next Door
Chapters (84)
  1. Cover
  2. Praise
  3. Dedication
  4. About the Author
  5. HALLOWEEN
  6. Seven Weeks Before Halloween
  7. ONE
  8. TWO
  9. THREE
  10. HALLOWEEN
  11. Six Weeks Before Halloween
  12. FOUR
  13. FIVE
  14. SIX
  15. HALLOWEEN
  16. Five Weeks Before Halloween
  17. SEVEN
  18. EIGHT
  19. HALLOWEEN
  20. NINE
  21. TEN
  22. HALLOWEEN
  23. ELEVEN
  24. TWELVE
  25. Twenty-Five Days Until Halloween
  26. THIRTEEN
  27. FOURTEEN
  28. HALLOWEEN
  29. FIFTEEN
  30. SIXTEEN
  31. SEVENTEEN
  32. EIGHTEEN
  33. NINETEEN
  34. TWENTY
  35. HALLOWEEN
  36. Eighteen Days Until Halloween
  37. TWENTY-ONE
  38. TWENTY-TWO
  39. HALLOWEEN
  40. TWENTY-THREE
  41. TWENTY-FOUR
  42. Eleven Days Until Halloween
  43. TWENTY-FIVE
  44. TWENTY-SIX
  45. Eight Days Until Halloween
  46. TWENTY-SEVEN
  47. TWENTY-EIGHT
  48. TWENTY-NINE
  49. HALLOWEEN
  50. THIRTY
  51. Four Days Until Halloween
  52. THIRTY-ONE
  53. HALLOWEEN
  54. THIRTY-TWO
  55. Two Days Until Halloween
  56. THIRTY-THREE
  57. The Night Before Halloween
  58. THIRTY-FOUR
  59. HALLOWEEN
  60. THIRTY-FIVE
  61. Halloween, Present Day
  62. THIRTY-SIX
  63. THIRTY-SEVEN
  64. HALLOWEEN
  65. THIRTY-EIGHT
  66. HALLOWEEN
  67. THIRTY-NINE
  68. HALLOWEEN
  69. FORTY
  70. HALLOWEEN
  71. FORTY-ONE
  72. FORTY-TWO
  73. FORTY-THREE
  74. FORTY-FOUR
  75. HALLOWEEN... NOW
  76. FORTY-FIVE
  77. Seven Months Later
  78. FORTY-SIX
  79. FORTY-SEVEN
  80. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  81. ALICE SWANSON’S
  82. Reader's Guide
  83. Questions for Discussion
  84. Booklist

Not me. I was not one of those moms who screamed and made a mess of herself trying to prove to everyone how much she loved her kid. I was the silent missile. Exploding only when he touched the pool side.

Cole and Bo separated from the pack, well ahead of the swimmers from the other school. Come on come on come on, I thought hard.

Slipping into the home stretch, Cole was leading by just a hair. But then Bo made a final push and gained on him.

It was close, so close it seemed like the boys touched the side at the very same time.

As we waited for the final times, Cole heaved himself out of the water, shaking the droplets off his shoulders. My son was competitive, just like his mother. I was sure he had it.

The announcer came over the speaker, his voice breaking up, at the same time the results appeared on the scoreboard. “...a new record at Woodard...”

Cole had broken the record he’d set.

Yes.

But Bo had broken that record by a fraction of a second.

Shit.

Maggie screamed, her face red. She hugged Georgeann, who, to her credit, looked mortified. “Yes!” She fist-pumped, nearly losing her balance on the bleachers, and I wanted to smack her, watch her tumble down each tier like a sack of potatoes.

She turned to me. “I’m sorry,” she said, with the smile of a devil on her face. “Can’t be winners all the time.”

SIX

Theresa

There was something exciting about a football game on a crisp, clear fall evening. The crowds, the lights, the cold bleachers against your thighs, the smell of hot oil and sugar, and the poor PA system.

Lily had accepted a ride to the high school with us, but as soon as we pulled into Adam’s parking spot, she hopped out, smashing a knit cap onto her head. “See you guys later,” she said, then scampered off before anyone could say more.

It made me nostalgic for the times she and I used to go to the local high school’s games and huddle under a bright quilt my mom had made, cheering on the team and buying too much cotton candy and caramel popcorn. She’d always wanted to be right by my side.

“Hey,” Adam said quietly, as if reading my mind. “It’s okay. She’s just testing her independence. She still loves you. Don’t worry.”

He rubbed my chin, forcing a smile out of me, but if anything, his words made me feel worse.